The First Founders Day and Early Campus Names

map of the College Campus was drawn by Kara Lynn Corey
"This map of the College Campus was drawn by Kara Lynn Corey, a graduate of the A.B. class, for the Founder's Day issue of the Teco Echo" Image Source: The Teco Echo, June 3, 1933

Campus growth in the 1920s doubled East Carolina’s size and helped elevate its standing as a dynamic institution of higher education devoted to teacher training. By 1932, as the young school – then a teachers college – approached its 25th year, many began to reflect on the significance of its founding. One outcome was the first Founders Day celebration on March 5, 1932. Meant to be an annual event, Founders Day has been observed variously over the decades as the still burgeoning school – now a major university – continues to pay homage to those who brought life to a lofty vision of education in service to humanity.

Students, faculty, alumnae, the board of trustees, and friends of the college participated in the celebration which, incidentally, doubled as a “home coming.” President Robert H. Wright delivered an opening address on the “Function of a Teachers College,” emphasizing their central importance to the quality of citizenship in the American republic. In addition to Wright, five of the original faculty – Kate Lewis (art), Mamie Jenkins (English), Maria Graham (math), Sallie Joyner Davis (history), and Leon Meadows (English) – were recognized at the occasion. The master of ceremonies was Dr. Ronald J. Slay (1890-1948), director of instruction in science and later dean of the school. Slay was the first faculty in science education to hold a Ph.D.

The keynote speaker was the Honorable S. J. Everett, a local attorney and former state senator who had earlier helped secure a million dollar state appropriation for East Carolina making possible construction of two new buildings: the Science Building (later, Graham) and the Social and Religious Building (later, Wright). It was in the latter that the first Founders Day program was held. In his remarks, Everett praised the vision of former professor and Pitt County superintendent of public education, W. H. Ragsdale (1855-1914), the conceptual father of the school who early on understood the need for and was a vocal advocate of advanced teacher training for eastern North Carolina. Already, as Everett noted, one of the newer buildings on campus, the dormitory for faculty women, had been named for Ragsdale. Everett gave high praise to Ragsdale, “the dreamer,” then former governor, Thomas J. Jarvis (1836-1915), “the diplomat,” and finally to former Pitt County senator, James L. Fleming (1867-1909), “the pleader and provider” who, with Jarvis’ help, secured the legislative founding of the school on March 8, 1907.

The building named after Ragsdale had been one of the first added to the campus in the 1920s. However, when it was built it was initially known as the Faculty House. By 1927, the board of trustees, recognizing the importance of the school’s founding fathers, authorized the naming of prominent campus buildings after them. The Faculty House was then named Ragsdale. Also, the West Dormitory was named Wilson Hall in honor of the late-professor Claude Wayland Wilson (1867-1922), a charter faculty. The East Dormitory was named Jarvis Hall after the late-governor Thomas J. Jarvis. These two buildings, though part of the original campus, had been expanded and renovated during the 1920s construction boom.

The new dormitory just east of Jarvis, completed in 1923 and first known simply as the “A” Dormitory, was named in honor of the late-senator James L. Fleming. East of it, another newly constructed dorm, completed in 1925 and previously known as “B” Dormitory, was named in honor of Sallie Southall Cotten (1864-1929), one of the outstanding women in the state and a resident of Pitt County. The Library (later, Whichard), located east of “B” Dormitory and actually completed before it in 1923, was named after James Yadkin Joyner (1862-1954), former state superintendent of public education and founding chair of East Carolina’s board of trustees.

One of the most important campus buildings, the new Social and Religious Building, completed in 1925, had not been given a name honoring a founder at the time of the first Founders Day ceremony. The same was true with several other new buildings including the Model School, completed in 1927 and later, in 1959, named Wahl-Coates honoring the two founding figures, Francis Wahl (1895-1984) and Dora E. Coates (1891-1974), for their roles in establishing it as the campus venue for practical teacher training. The Science Building, completed in 1929 and later named after professor of mathematics and science, Maria Daniel Graham (1876-1947), also went unnamed until after Graham’s passing in 1947. The new Administration Building, completed in 1930 and later, in 1954, named Spilman Building, honoring John Barham Spilman (1886-1935), the school’s treasurer from 1912-1935, remained unnamed at the time of the first Founders Day. The old Administration and Classroom Building, part of the original campus, had been named – though apparently without designation by the board of trustees – the Austin Building in honor of Herbert E. Austin (1866-1929), a charter faculty, after his passing in 1929.

The Social and Religious Building, also known as the Students Building, served as the venue for President Wright’s regular “chapel talks,” school assemblies, guest lectures, and musical and dramatic performances. The school’s literary societies – the Poe, the Lanier, and the Emerson – also met there. As of 1928, commencement ceremonies were held in its auditorium, as were, in the 1930s, inter-collegiate men’s basketball games. The SGA and the Tecoan had offices there, as did the Department of Physical Education. Graced with a nicely landscaped fountain, the Social and Religious Building quickly emerged as the new center of campus. In 1936, following President Wright’s passing two years prior, the trustees voted to name the building after him, recognizing his twenty-five years of service as the school’s founding president.

Although names were assigned, one did not stick. The Library continued to be called the Library until the mid-1950s when a spacious new building was constructed on the southwestern side of campus and then formally named James Yadkin Joyner Library. Thereafter, the library was almost invariably referred to as Joyner Library, or simply “Joyner.” In 1959, the old library building was named after David Julian Whichard (1895-1993), editor of the local newspaper, the Daily Reflector, and a longstanding supporter of East Carolina.

While the first Founders Day sought to establish a tradition of annual remembrance for those who led in the founding of the institution, the names assigned to campus buildings served as more permanent recognition of their extraordinary contributions to educational service throughout the state and region.

Sources

Additional Related Material

Report on Founder's day Programming. Image Source: The Teco Echo, March 5, 1932

Aerial view of campus. Image Source: The Tecoan, 1935.

The Library. Image Source: The Tecoan, 1934

The Social and Religious Building. Image Source: The Tecoan, 1934

Citation Information

Title: The First Founders Day and Early Campus Names

Author: John A. Tucker, PhD

Date of Publication: 2/12/2020

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